Raptors officially waive championship-winning forward

The Raptors officially placed veteran forward P.J. Tucker on waivers on Friday, per NBA.com’s transaction log. Shams Charania of ESPN initially reported the news.

Tucker, 39, hasn’t played this season, but he was traded twice before the deadline. The Clippers sent him to the Jazz in a Feb. 1 deal, then Utah moved him to Toronto five days later as part of the complex five-team trade involving Jimmy Butler.

Tucker has been mentioned as a buyout candidate, but there’s no indication from Charania that he agreed to give up a portion of his $11.54M salary to be released. Because he’ll be waived by the March 1 deadline, Tucker will be eligible for the postseason if he joins another team.

Because Tucker’s salary is below the $12.8M non-taxpayer mid-level exception, he will be free to sign with anyone once he clears waivers. The only exception is Utah because he’s not permitted to return to the last team that traded him for at least a year.

While he hasn’t seen much on-court action over the past two years, Tucker has served as a valuable three-and-D contributor for several playoff teams throughout his career. His postseason experience and defensive prowess could be attractive to contenders now that he’s a free agent.

Tucker was in the final season of a three-year, $33M contract the Sixers gave him in free agency in 2022. He was sent to L.A. as part of the James Harden trade in 2023, but never really had a consistent role with the Clippers, appearing in just 28 games after the deal.